To the awesome girls of the Bay Area and the world. Be what you want to be. Your potential is limitless. Your future is bright and magnificent. There is nothing that stands in your way if you set your mind to it. Your dreams can be reality. You have the ability to make a significant contribution to the world of which you are a part of. This world is in better hands because of you. And the good news is that there are many resources, right here in the Bay Area, to help you bolster your confidence, to discover your beautiful voice, and help you achieve. 

I dedicate this Girl Guide to you because you are AWESOME!

3 AMAZING EVENTS

Saturday, October 15, Girl Festival at Fort Mason, San Francisco. 

Join Thousands of girls for a day of fun, exploration and empowerment. Discover the many amazing programs and services exclusively for girls, connect with thousands of girls locally and globally, and be inspired to become your best and make a difference in the world at this jam-packed day of activities! 

Sunday, October 2, Run Like a Girl Race Series 

This race is part of the larger Tiburon Running Festival inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running. our goal is inspire young girls to be strong, confident, and healthy - through running!

Girlz Climb On by GirlVentures

Empowering adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths through outdoor adventures. Right now, GirlVentures has a course to further develop climbing skills after-school with their Girlz Climb On program in San Francisco or Oakland. Learn technical rock climbing skills and how to apply the strengths you discover through this exciting sport to your every day life. 

Group kayaking tours also now available for the fall and spring. Click on this link if you are interested for a girls day on the Bay! 

FIND YOUR PASSION

Epic Sky is an ecommerce platform dedicated to empowering Gen Z girls by giving them a place to connect, share ideas, shop, and have a say in the design and development of the products the company sells. In addition, Epic Sky partners with girl designers and contributors, ages 10-18, to develop fashion and accessory collections, and then sells their products on the site. The company invites girls to participate in building this next-generation platform – sharing their stories, life experiences, creative sides, and their opinions to empower girls all over the world. Check out my interview with the co-founders of Epic Sky.

Career Girls is a free, online, educational resource with over 150 diverse role models and 3700 inspiring video clips.     

FOR BIG GIRLS: The Hivery is a collaborative and creative coworking space where women can pursue their work, passions, ideas and what’s next. Coming soon: Winter Creativity Day, A Sunday devoted to creativity for girls ages 12-100.

AFTER SCHOOL & SUMMER PROGRAMS

GirlVentures combines outdoor adventure with social emotional learning for adolescent girls, at a time in their lives when they need our support the most. Girls backpack, hike, kayak and rock climb as they experience the wonders of the Northern California wilderness. They learn from experiential educators and compassionate mentors, while building life skills that will empower them to reach their full potential.

Girls Leadership Institute teaches girls the skills to know who they are, what they believe, and how to express it, empowering them to create change in their world. Check out there many programs and summer camps. And don't miss my interview with Simone Maren. 

Bay Area Girls Rock Camp is an Oakland-based nonprofit that empowers girls through music, promoting an environment that fosters self-confidence, creativity and teamwork.  

Camp Reel Stories Summer program teaching high school girls the skills to make their own media, to view current media critically and thoughtfully, and to aspire to leadership.

Gaia Girls Passages provides circles of support, inspiration and encouragement through nature-based groups, summer camps, and rite of passage ceremonies for females ages 8-18 and their mothers.    

Girls on the Go, for girls ages 9-13, girls explore, imagine, and connect with one another and the beautiful BayArea. 

Play-Well Teknologies This LEGO-based engineering program, operating in 23 states, offers a summer camp just for girls ages 5 to 9, “Girl Powered Engineering Using LEGOs,” at multiple Bay Area locations. Taught by women engineers and scientists, the camp aims to provide a supportive environment for girls to design and build projects from bridges to mazes.  

Rosie’s Girls Offers a three-week summer day camp with a “girl-centered environment” and hands-on exploration of S.T.E.M. activities and skilled trades. Held at the Rosie the Riveter Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond.  

ORGANIZATIONS

Girl Scouts of Northern California over 50,000 girls and 31,000 adults take part in Girl Scout programs each year for the developmental, educational, emotional, and social needs of girls. Girls are able to make friends, embark on new adventures and realize the power of girls in a fun and safe atmosphere. Growing strong and confident girls who are skilled leaders is a central focus of the organization; this is emphasized through team-building activities and community service.  

RESOURCES 

Girl Talk is a peer mentoring program that pairs high school girls with middle school girls in order to help the younger girls navigate the tween and early teenage years.  Not only do the middle school girls benefit from the guidance of their older peers, the high school girls learn from having the opportunity to share their experiences as positive role models.  

CODING FOR GIRLS

Alexa Café with iD Tech offers this all-girl summer program for ages 10-15, with specialties including coding, video production, photography and web design, and more. Locations in San Jose, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Berkeley. 

Black Girls Code is a Bay Area-based organization introduces girls of color from ages 7-17 to coding, robotics and S.T.E.M. fields through workshops, “hackathons” and more.  

Education Unlimited offers summer science camps at UC Berkeley and Stanford for girls entering fourth through ninth grades, with topics including marine science and biology, engineering, astronomy and neuroanatomy. Day and overnight camps are available. 

Expanding Your Horizons Network is organizes conferences throughout the country, often on college campuses, to introduce girls to S.T.E.M. careers and mentors. Future dates to be announced.

Girls on the Mic is a program of Women’s Audio Mission, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that aims to increase women in music production, Girls on the Mic works with Bay Area middle schools and community organizations to provide girls ages 8-18 with mentors and sound-recording technology to facilitate small-scale recording projects.  

Girls Who Code offers free weekly computer science clubs for middle and high school girls and a free seven-week summer intensive, located at companies and universities, for rising high school juniors and seniors with hands-on learning in computing, robotics, app development, web design and more. Need-based scholarships are available for summer job income replacement and travel costs.  

MVCode offers fun and engaging girls-only coding classes (1st-8th grade) in three of our clubs (Mill Valley, Greenbrae and SF).  These classes are designed to be a friendly and relaxed environment for girls to learn coding and robotics.  No experience is necessary, and our trained staff will help design the perfect coding education program for your daughter in Mill Valley: Wednesdays and Thursdays, Greenbrae: Tuesdays and Thursdays, San Francisco: Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

SPORTS

Girls on the Run® fosters positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development in girls ages eight to thirteen years old through running programs and workouts. The goal is to prevent girls from engaging in at-risk activities as they mature.  

Bay Area Girls Unite Empowering young women by way of organized sports, non-competitive play, and sharing ideas and opinions in a safe environment.     

Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative (BAWSI) inspires strong, talented and accomplished female athletes and coaches to change the world!     

Girls Leading Girls is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that trains young women in leadership and life skills through soccer.    

Grrrl Brigade is an intensive dance/leadership development program designed to provide high quality dance training, performance opportunities, and a sense of self-empowerment for San Francisco's girls ages 9 to 18.      

Impact Bay Area is dedicated to providing self-defense and empowerment training to Bay Area and Northern California communities. They offer a Teen "Kick Like a Girl" class for girls ages 12-16.